Sunday, July 7, 2013

Remembering libertarian gay activist Roy Childs

July 2, 2013 - "[T]he Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act ... brought back memories of one of the warmest people I've ever known, the great libertarian essayist, critic and gay activist Roy A. Childs, Jr. (1948-1992).

"Roy edited the Libertarian Review from 1977 until it folded in 1981. Next, he joined the Cato institute as a research fellow, eventually becoming a policy analyst. He was best-known, though, for his brilliant essays for Laissez Faire Books -- the largest seller of libertarian-related books. But I will always remember Roy as the man who dared challenge Ayn Rand on not only Objectivism, but also on her die-hard homophobia. As someone who had met Rand and knew how fearsome she could be, I admired his nerve!

"I was so impressed with Roy's essay, 'An Open Letter to Ayn Rand,' published in the Society for Individual Liberty's Individualist newsletter in 1969, that I wrote him a letter congratulating him on having the courage to stand up to her. I will never forget this sentence from Roy's essay: 'Let us walk forward into the sunlight, Miss Rand. You belong with us.'"